I am a person who cannot stand to have hair in my face, especially when I am sleeping.  As my hair has grown, I have tried different things to either keep the hair out of my face, and/or just protect my hair from tangles and damage during the night.

Here are a few things I have done:
low ponytail
large barrette with hair twisted up
single braid
twin braids
hair wrapped around a sock (gives great curls!)
hair divided and each side wrapped around a sock (even curlier!)
a low bun
and now my latest........
a single braid which is put inside a clean tube sock

The tube sock protects the ends from constant rubbing against the bedding (and my sleeping on it).  Also, since the sock is not quite as long as my braid, the ends get curled which is a nice benefit.

My fave is a sinle braid down the back  :)

Good to see you around, Leia!

Hi Leia!!! :D :D :D
For me it´s also a single braid down the back,but since I still get a small amount of tangles,I might try bikerbraids´ idea with the sock!

I keep mine in an updo.  Since I don't breathe well when sleeping on my back, it works for me, as I usually sleep on my sides.

Jennifer Eve

Do you sleep on a satin pillowcase?  I always worry that if I put my hair up, the hair will be stressed with all my tossing and turning.  I seem to always have short hairs at the nape of my neck.

No, but then I tend to remain quite still at night.  I've even gone all night in one position!

Jennifer Eve

Well, I USED to sleep with it up in a bun, but since it's almost waist length and getting heavier, I would wake up with my bun flopping from side to side.  I figured that was probably putting too much stress on it.
What I do NOW is put it in a high ponytail secured with a cloth scrunchi (not tight); then braid the length; and secure the ends with a soft scrunchi which I made from old pantyhose tights!  This style is very comforable.  I just toss the braid above my head when I hit my satin pillowcase!  It's been working very well -- and I'm a big tosser & turner at night!

(Hi Robin!  This is nice here!)

wrote on Mar 26^th, 2004 at 10:33pm:

(Hi Robin!  This is nice here!)

Hey TammySue - great to see ya here!  

wha type of sock would u use. i have long hair and i wrap my hair. all u have to do is wrap some hair around a big roller at the top of the hair then wrap the hair around the roller. but back to the tube sock....how exactly would u put your hair in the tube sock lol.

I usually either braid my hair or do a 2strand rope, then pull the sock up over the braid.  I secure the sock at the nape with a small scruncie or hair tie.

???whats a two strand rope?

A 2 strand rope braid:
divide the hair into 2 equal sections.  
Twist the right hand section clockwise, then place under the left section.  Twist what is now the right section clockwise.  Continue this until the length of your hair is twisted to look like a rope.

There are instructions for a 3 strand braid in the HairStyles Gallery shown on the left side of the of the screen, or go to this link http://www.longlocks.com/hairstyles.htm

I sleep with a satin bonnett on!  Think Laura Ingalls-very little house on the prairie.  Not sexy! :)But, this has saved my hair.  I have below the waist hair that i put in sort of a bun shape and then I stick it all in the bonnett.  I do not put a clip or anything in it- it actually stays in there.   ;)

after my home made snood kept falling off at night (grr) i discovered a nifty way of keeping my hair out of my face and tangle free at night by just wearing an alice band (those continuous stips of elasticated fabric) and then braided pigtails....NO tangles in the morning! woot!  :)

I do a single braid and then cover all my hair with a nylon pantyhose. The elastic keeps it in place, and it protects the top from tossing and turning as well as the length. If I want it more wavy I twist it up into a bun, but usually I just lay it over the pillow above my head to keep it out of the way. My hair is much more manageable in the morning.

The previous time when my hair was long, I wore it in a long braid down my back, day and night. Tossing and turning, I would have to yank the braid from under myself to get comfortable. I hated that.

When my hair was not quite waist length again, I was able to sleep with it down without any difficulty. After I started to take care of it better, having discovered these boards, I resolved to put it in two braids at night to protect it, even though my hair isn't the type to tangle at night. That lasted about a week. Not long afterwards, I discovered that my nighttime tossing and turning resulted in my hair wrapping itself around my neck at night, which made it difficult to disentangle myself and get up.

So I started putting it in a ponytail on top of my head and tossing the ends over my pillow, to hang down. But now that it's a little longer again, I find it stays up there without the scrunchy, so I'm free again, I can just go to bed when I'm tired.

I sleep with my hair down on a cotton pillowcase and it's almost waist-length now, I don't even get tangles.

I don't get tangles, either (we're both lucky to be non-tanglers), but if I wore my hair down around me at night, now that it's close to my tailbone, I'd run the risk of getting myself wrapped up in it, and ripping it when I tried to undo myself. Luckily, it stays up at the head of the bed, where I drape it now, regardless of how much I toss and turn.

I'd hate to be a person who both tosses and turns at night and tangles. I'd probably be wearing a nightcap over braids to bed every night.

I recently bought one of those conforming curved foam pillows - more for my neck than my hair - but the unexpected benefit : it has transformed me from a "toss and turner" to a back sleeper.  I've worn a single braid high on my head all my life - but my sides were always "fuzzy" in the morning, and tended to break more readily... I tangle terribly.  Sleeping on my back, with a satin pillowcase on the (miserably uncomfortable but beneficial) foam pillow, I no longer have fuzz - my braid is as neat when I awake as when I put it in - and - I no longer have the 'puffy eye' look in the mornings.  My latest habit is rolling the end up (as it is now tailbone length)and criss-crossing a stain ribbon from the bottom to the top to secure it for the night.

I have a new kitten, however, who seems to be facinated with this mysterious braid (as it's always "up" during waking hours) - and I caught him  licking and teething on it twice... so, I added a little almond oil to my usual Jojoba before bed - and he HATES the smell ;D and now stays away from it.

I use a satin pillowcase and either put my hair in two braids or a ponytail which I put into a twist. Which I do depends on if I want my hair kinky the next day (then it goes in braids) or more straight-wavy (then it gets the twist). :)

I was wondering, why are satin pillowcases so much better to sleep on than cotton pillowcases?  Can you really break your hair by sleeping on a cotton pillowcase, even if it's in a braid?  And If i really do need a satin pillowcase, where can I get one, and about how much do they cost?  THanks! ;)
  By the way, I usually sleep with my hair in a low single braid.  If it's just been washed, It doesn't get too tangled if I sleep with it loose.
P.S.  Bikerbraid, could you tell me exactly how you wrap your hair in socks to get it curly?  I tried it but couldn't figure out how to end it (whether you wrap another sock around it like when you use rags, or what).  I ended up wrapping the hair/sock twists into buns, but it was kind of uncomfortable.

Satin pillowcases are so much better because they reduce the friction on hair... LisaJaney sells them at this site, just scroll all the way down:
http://www.tlc-pads.com/services.htm
The cases are 8 USD each. And there are supertowels too... and satin scrunchies, ... good stuff. LisaJaney kicks butt ;D

I just got a satin pillowcase about a month ago and I
really like it. :)

wrote on Oct 12^th, 2004 at 1:10am:

LisaJaney sells them at this site, just scroll all the way down: http://www.tlc-pads.com/services.htm The cases are 8 USD each. And there are supertowels too... and satin scrunchies, ... good stuff. LisaJaney kicks butt ;D

Thanks for the info, Anais!  I must admit, I was wondering if satin pillowcases are sold at department stores or superstores like Wal*Mart.  Of course, here I am asking this and I don't know if you even live in my country! ;D  I live in the Southeast USA.

Hi BraiderSC
Yes, It is possible to get satin pillowcases from many different department stores - I've seen them at Linen N Things, Stouds, Sears, JC Penney over the years ... They are also often in the Domestications catalog.  I'm not lucky enough to have a Walmart close to me (drats!) but there is a good chance they'd have them, too.  Also - As my bedroom is lavender/periwinkle with white wood trim - I found it difficult to find satin pillowcases in a color I liked - Solution?  The fabric store! They had lavender and violet satins and there is nothing easier than sewing a pillowcase!  There are many weights of Satin - (in fabric stores) - I prefer the heavier satin without visible grain/texture - for the slippery lack of friction. Hope this helps!  Nightowl

Thanks so much, nightowl! :-*  IT helped a lot- if I get a satin pillowcase, I'll probably end up sewing my own.  Now I just got to get to the fabric store... ;)

wrote on Oct 12^th, 2004 at 9:59pm:

Thanks so much, nightowl! :-*  IT helped a lot- if I get a satin pillowcase, I'll probably end up sewing my own.  Now I just got to get to the fabric store... ;)

I am making my own as well. So I guess the vote is polyester satin is okay - or best? Silk? Rayon?

Bridal satin is the best - it is a heavier fabric that has a very smooth weave.

i never tried satin or silk pillowcases but i kind of don't move too much while sleeping. i'll try to sleep with a french braid instead of classic one  tonight. seems to give nice volume on the back of the head  :D

wrote on Jul 9^th, 2004 at 1:46am:

So I started putting it in a ponytail on top of my head and tossing the ends over my pillow, to hang down. But now that it's a little longer again, I find it stays up there without the scrunchy, so I'm free again, I can just go to bed when I'm tired.

i'd so like to do that in case i eventually get tired of the waves. but i think i'll really need a silk pillow case then cuze all those little annoying hairs are exposed on the haid when i do that ... they easily break.

i was just wondering ... isn't satin annoying to sleep on when you easily sweat and/or have a fat skin ? since satin seems never to be fully natural fiber, i am kind of afraid it will cause tons of sweating and it will lack absorption power of coton and get all greasy within a few days  :'(

hello styg

I've also made pillow cases from raw silk - and find them almost as slippery as satin, and the fabric still prevents friction for the hair (I first tried it because there was this beautiful violet silk......) The only consideration is the washing - it must be hand washed and hung up or laid flat to dry.  

Silk fabric is something that was used centuries ago to "polish" long hair - the gentle rubbing of silk against long hair was supposed to bring out a lustre that a hairbrush could not - - - I must admit, that having read this as a high school student - I went out and purchased some raw silk and gave it a try - but at that young age, didn't bother to check into exactly how it was to be done, or for how long - I just thought: rub it against my hair and get shine  - ha ha.  So - after 2 or 3 tries - I made the fabric into a few lovely scrunchies for my pony tail, and a scarf.   ;D

It's certainly possible to buy real silk satin, but all the satin pillowcases I've seen are synthetic, probably because of the price of real silk satin.

http://www.thaisilks.com/store/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TS&Category_Code=40